Striker plate



July 11, 1933. CHURCH 1,917,240

STRIKER PLATE Filed May 11, 1931 Patented July 11, 1933 we. STAT-ESParent LOUIS K. CHURCH, OF SEATTLE, WASHINGTON; RC-BERTA H.GHURdIl-I-EXECUTRIX OF SAID LOUIS K. CHURCH, DECEASED STRIKER PLATEApplication filed May 11, 1931 Serial No. 536,514.

My invention pertains in general I to str plates for latches and bolts,and more especially to such striker plates as are intended for use inconnection with automobile doors. 1 p I It is not possible to supportanautomobile oor so rigidly with relation to the body that vill not be a.slight vibrational movement between the bolt and the striker plate whichretains it. This creates'a very objectionabl and annoying squeak. Whileto a certain'extent this can be eliminated by placing a lubricant, suchas graphite, upon the bolt and upon the striker plate, this in turn hasits objectionable feature in that this lubricant frequently comes incontact with the clothing of persons entering or leavf the automobile,resulting in the formation of a spot. Such a squeal: is theaccompaniment of wear, and as the striker plate wears the bolt becomesunable to hold the door t g'ht against the usual resilient buffers, topre 1d rat le develops, and the wear progresso eiy increases. Thisrattle can only be eliminated by removing the worn striker platereplacing it with anew one.

nate all of these objectionable features,'to striker plate constructionwherein there is no appreciable wear andwhichtherefore does not need tobe renewed from time to time, which resiliently holdsthe door againstthe butters, in which the squeak and rattle is elnninatedand whlchrequires no lubricant, and which therefore will not tend to spot theclothing. lt s also an ob ect to provide a. str1ker plate of thisgeneral. character, which may be quickly and cheaply manufactured ofpressed nel'al, steel, for instance, and which may be quickly and easilyassembled.

'My invention comprises the novel parts and the novel combination andarrangement thereof, as shown in the accompanying drawing, describedinthe specification, and

as will be more particularly defined by the claims which terminate thesame;

In the accompanying drawing I have shown my invention eml'iodied' in atypical striker plate of the general type commonly in use uponautomobiles, it being understood that the principles of my invention maybe variously incorporated in striker plates of this or of any othersuitable form.

ent in and out movement f the door,

It is the object of my invention to elimi- "Figure l'is a face view ofmy striker plate in association with an automobile door frame.v v iFigure 2 is transverse section through the door frame, illustrating mystriker plate and the bolt and associated parts in plan view.

Figure 3 is a transverse section through thestriker plate and the doorframe with which it is associated and Figure t is in part anelevationand in part a longitudinal section through the striker plate. 7

For convenience of desciption, I have shown my striker plate inassociation with the door frame 9 of an automobile, usually made ofsteel'formed to shape, and having associated with it an interior post 90which may be of woodor steel. Such a door frame is preferably recessed,asindicated at 91, for the receptionof the striker plate. Fittingclosely within such adoor frame is the door 8, having usually a flange80 which overlaps the edge of the door frame 9, and which thus The doorhas prowould close the recess 91. jecting from its'vertieal swingingedge the tip of the latching bolt 81, and would be provided with theusual exterior and interior handles, 82- and 83 respectively, forwithdrawing the bolt 81; resilient buffers, not shown, ordinarily limitinward or closing movement of the door.

A striker plate employed in such constructions usually is provided withtwo bolt-retaining ledges 1 and 10, with which, in the normalconstruction, the flat ed g'e of the bolt 81 is di{ rectly engaged tohold the door wholly or partiallyelosed. Sincetheengagemcntoftho boltwith the ledge 10 is only to prevent the door flying open. should thebolt he accidentally re-,

leased from theledge 1, perhaps by reason of having been imperfectlyengaged therewith, no change need be made in the ledge 10. Standingabove the ledge 1, however, are a series of anti-friction devices, suchas the balls 2, each .of which is freely re'voluble.

" These balls stand up above the surface of the ledgel sufiiclently toengage the bolt 81 and to prevent direct engagement between this J r l elet -'e .i ecause t we noividua bolt and tb d9, 1 l *l 1 l i l tions,any movement of the bolt relative to the ledge 1 in a plane parallel tothe ledge is freely permitted by the revolution of the balls upon theirindividual centers, and thus balls are each freely revoluble alldirecup-and-down movement of the door relative to its frame, orforwardand-backward movement, or any combination thereof, is freelypermitted by the rolling of the bolt surface over the anti-frictionballs 2.

.may be done in various ways, so that 1 do not desire to be understoodas restricting myself to any one form; that which I will now describehas been found aconvenient one. In this form, the ledge 1 is providedwith'a slot 11, and the balls are of such diameter thatthey will projectthrough this slot from within the interior or cavity 12 of the strikerplate sufliciently to project well above the surface of the ledge 1, yetthey are restrained from passing out through the slot 11. In order thatthey may be supported and properly spaced, they may be held in a ballretainer :20 similar to the retainer which is commonly employed to spacethe balls of a ball bearing, and this retainer is supported. from withinthe cavity 12.

Since I prefer that the balls be yieldingly supported, so that they mayyield under large stresses and may yield, for instance, to permitpassage of the bolt over the balls, and so that they will tend to pressthe door againstthe resilient buffers, 1 have provided a flat, fairlystiff, bowed spring 3, the ends of which engage the ends of the retainer20, as may be seen in Figure l, and the central portion of which. issupported upon a shelf 13 project ing within the cavity 12.

v For convenience and cheapness of manufacture and assembly, I preferthat the striker plate'be formed of a piece of sheet metal bent intoproper shape, and to this end it comprises a back 10, from which theshelf 13 may be struck up, a front 1, in which the ledge 10 is formed,and the end pieces 41. To form the upper ledge 1 the ends of the front 1and the back 40 may be bent in towards each other, these ends beingcomplementally notched to form the slot 11. In assembling the device,the front and back would be left apart sufficiently that the spring 3.and retainer 20 with its balls 2 could be'seated be tween the shelf 13and the flanged top of the back 10, and then the front would be closedin over the ball retainer and spring, and held in place perhaps bywelding.

The striker plate is suitably secured to the door frame 9, as forinstance, by means of a screw 5 passing through holes provided in thefront'd and back 40, and by screws 50 passing through ears 15 struck outfrom the ends 1-1.

Whatl claim as my invention is:

1. In a striker plate having a bolt-retaining ledge, freely revolubleballs projecting above the surface of the ledge, to engage the bolt andto prevent contact between the bolt and said ledge, and yieldable meanspermitting limited movement of the balls under pressure of the bolttowards and from the face of the ledge.

2. In a striker plate having a bolt-retaining ledge, anti-friction meansprojecting above said ledge to prevent contact between the bolt andledge, and permitting free movement of a bolt in contact therewith inall directions in a plane parallel to the ledge, and yieldable meansnormally holding said anti-friction means projected, but yieldable topermit slight movement of the bolt towards and from the ledge.

3. In a striker plate having a cavity and a slotted bolt-retainingledge, freely revoluble balls within the cavity and projecting throughsaid slot above the surface of the ledge, to engage the bolt and toprevent con tact between the bolt and said ledge, and a ball retainerseparate from and movable relative to the plate, and disposed within thecavity to maintain the balls spaced from one another.

1. In a striker plate having a cavity and a slotted bolt-retainingledge, freely revoluble balls 'within the cavity and projecting throughsaid slot above the surface of the ledge, to engage the bolt and toprevent c011- tact between the bolt and said ledge, a ball retainerwithin the cavity to maintain the balls spaced from one another, and aspring normally maintaining the balls projected.--

5. In astriker plate having a cavity and a slotted bolt-retaining ledge,freely revoluble balls within the cavity and projecting through saidslot above the surface of the ledge, to engage the bolt and to preventcontact between the bolt and said ledge, a ball retainer within thecavity to maintain the balls spaced from one another, a shelf within thecavity, and a bowed flat spring engaging by its ends the ends of theball retainer, and between its ends resting upon the shelf to maintainthe balls normally and yielding ly projected.

6. A striker plate comprising a hollow body of pressed sheet metalhaving a slotted bolt-retaining ledge, a shelf pressed from the metalinto the cavity of the body beneath the slot, a plurality of ballsdisposed in said slot, ball retaining and spacing means engaged with theballs, and means reacting between said shelf and said ball retaining andspacing means to hold the balls normally yieldingly projected throughthe slot.

Signed at Seattle, King County, l/Vashing ton, this 26th day ofDecember, 1930.

LOUIS K. CHURCH.

